


Make Sure You're Safe

by doctorbuffypotterlock79



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 13:51:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorbuffypotterlock79/pseuds/doctorbuffypotterlock79
Summary: Manila calls Sutan after some guys hurt her in a club. He comes to get her and takes care of her after, while they both deal with their feelings toward what happened. There is some violence and injury. It’s not graphic, but do be cautious.





	Make Sure You're Safe

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I've been wanting to write for a while. I successfully survived finals, so here it is! Also, thank you to artificialniamh over on AQ Tumblr for being an awesome beta! Any comments or feedback are greatly appreciated!

His cell phone rang and jolted him out of sleep. Startled, Sutan grabbed around for his phone, barely registering the time, 1:19, and the name Manila on the display through sleepy, half-open eyes. 

“Girl, this better be good. It’s 1 in the fucking morning,” he mumbled, voice rough from sleep. 

“Sutan…” The voice was weak and shaky and it sounded like she’d been crying. There was a pause after, a pause that went on a little too long and sent Sutan into an immediate panic. 

“Honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” He was out of the bed without even realizing, waiting for her to respond. 

A few more agonizing seconds passed. “I… something happened. Can-can you pl-please come get me?” She was sobbing now, barely able to get out the words. 

“Okay, honey, it’s okay. I’ll be right there. Where are you?” he ran around the room throwing on clothes and was already out the door before Manila even told him the club she was at. Luckily, it was only about a 10-minute drive and he’d been there before. He promised Manila he’d be there right away, only to become panicked when she abruptly hung up. 

Sutan broke God knows how many traffic laws on his way, his sheer anxiety over what could have happened to her fueling his drive. The rational part of his brain reasoned that if she was able to call him, it couldn’t be _that_ bad, but it didn’t stop the irrational side of him from running through a dozen scenarios of what could have happened, each one worse and slightly more ridiculous than the last. By the time he got to the club his mind was buzzing with _Get to Manila_. He ran to the back, where he knew the dressing rooms were and where he figured Manila had to be. 

There were three queens outside one of the doors. Sutan was surprised to see one of them was Latrice. He had no idea she was even in town. The other two looked familiar and he was sure he knew them, but he didn’t have the space in his mind to remember their names. He needed to see Manila. 

“Oh, Sutan, thank God,” Latrice said. 

“Is Manila…” he trailed off. He couldn’t voice his fear that something terrible had happened to her.

“She went outside to get some air and there were these guys...we don’t really know what happened. A bunch of us heard her yelling so we went out there and they were all over her. We got them off and then she ran in here. She said she wouldn’t open the door until you got here, so we don’t know what they did to her,” Latrice supplied. “They ran when we got out there. Good thing too, because they would have taken those fuckers outta here in a body bag by the time I got done with them,” she fumed. 

Sutan could barely process the information. All he got from it was that Manila was hurt and needed him. 

“Okay. Okay,” he repeated, trying to calm himself down. He distractedly ran a hand through his hair. He had no idea how badly Manila was hurt or if he’d even be able to help her. “Um, do you think you can make sure no one tries to come in here?” 

“Of course. Ain't nobody gonna mess with me tonight,” Latrice replied, and Sutan took comfort in knowing she’d guard the door with her life. She and the other two moved from the door to let him through. 

“Hey, Manila, it’s me. I’m here. Will you let me in please?”

As the door opened his heart quickly broke. Manila’s face was a tear-streaked mess. There was a thin cut on her lower lip and a purplish blue bruise around her left eye. 

“Oh, honey,” Sutan locked the door behind them and led her over to the couch in the corner. He reached out to take her hand but stopped dead in his tracks. There were light purple finger-shaped bruises wrapped around her right wrist. He felt tears form in his eyes as he thought of someone grabbing her hard enough to bruise, but he forced them to go away. He couldn’t cry right now, not when she needed him. 

Sutan turned to face Manila, who had stopped crying and was looking up at him like he was the only thing keeping her whole right now. And maybe he was. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened? It’s okay if you don’t,” he said gently. He figured the best thing to do was find out how badly she was hurt and whether it was something he could fix. He hoped there was nothing worse than what he could see. 

“These guys at the club next door were bothering a bunch of us before the show. I went outside...I didn’t know they were still there…” she broke off into sobs. Sutan grabbed a wad of tissues from the table next to the couch and passed them over to her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her, yet was afraid to do anything that might cause her more pain. 

“It’s okay,” he soothed. “We can stop if you want.”

“N-no, I want to tell you,” she blew her nose and took a deep breath. “I went outside, and there they were. Like they were waiting. They just started harassing me, calling me names. Nothing I haven’t heard before, you know? I started to go back inside. I thought they’d ignore me, but one of them grabbed my wrist. I couldn’t get him off, he was so strong. He shoved me at the other one and then they just kept pushing me back and forth. One of them hit me in the eye, that’s where the bruise came from. The next thing I knew Latrice was there and I just ran. I think they only wanted to mess with me a little. If they really wanted to hurt me, they could have. The one who grabbed me was almost as tall as you and a lot bigger. He could’ve...it could’ve been a lot worse than some bruises.”

Sutan took in her story in silence. He was furious that this had happened, but grateful they hadn’t done any severe damage-- and then frustrated with his gratitude. He shouldn’t have to be thankful it was only a few bruises because _it shouldn’t have happened at all_. He’d never been one for violence, but right now he might have joined Latrice and gone after those fuckers. 

He forced himself to stay calm so he didn’t upset Manila further. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked finally. 

“I’m sure. Really. It’s just a couple bruises. And I feel a lot better now that you’re here. I panicked before, I’m not even hurt that badly and Latrice was right there and she would have taken care of me but I just...I needed you. I’m sorry I woke you up, I know you have trouble sleeping as it is.” 

“Hey, you know you don’t ever have to apologize to me, babe,” Sutan replied softly. “Especially over something like this. This is absolutely not your fault, okay? I know you’re not that hurt, but you’re obviously scared and upset and you shouldn't have had to go through this. Girl, if I had to fly a freaking plane here, I would’ve. I’ll always make sure you’re safe.”

Manila smiled, eyes wet with tears. “I love you, Sutan. So freaking much.”

“I love you too, Manila,” he said, carefully tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “I think we should get you home. Do you want to go to your place or mine? Either way, I’m staying with you. I don’t want to leave you alone tonight.”

“Yours, please.”

Sutan nodded and slowly helped Manila stand up. She gripped his right arm with her good hand, keeping herself steady as they left the dressing room. 

He looked to Latrice and the other queens, who had formed a sort of guard outside the dressing room area. “Thank you for taking care of her. I’m gonna bring her home now,” he said. 

Latrice nodded. “Of course, sweetie. Call me if you need anything. You take care of yourself, Manila.”

Manila grabbed his arm, a little strength back in her. “As long as _you_ stay out of trouble, Latrice. Your ass is not going back to prison,” Manila smiled slightly and winced as it made the cut on her lip hurt. Still, Sutan took it as a good sign that she was able to call Latrice out. 

“No promises, bitch,” Latrice replied fondly. 

Sutan led Manila to his car, opening the door and carefully helping her get in the passenger seat. After asking one more time whether she was really okay or needed a doctor, Sutan made the drive back to his apartment. Manila rested her head against the window and Sutan stayed quiet so he wouldn’t bother her.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Once Manila was through the door she felt like she could finally relax. She knew she was safe here. She dropped down on a chair at the kitchen table, thinking she might pass out right there. 

Sutan was suddenly across from her at the table, glass of water in one hand and a bottle of Tylenol in the other. “Your face probably hurts, right?” he asked quietly. 

“A little,” she admitted. She knew he was really worried about her when he didn’t make the obvious “ _well it’s killing me_ ” joke. 

Manila grabbed the glass and took 2 pills. She noticed Sutan watching her anxiously and wished he would calm down. She was fine. The bruises hardly hurt, and the fear and panic she’d felt earlier had melted away in his presence. 

“Do you want to clean off your makeup?” he asked, walking to the bathroom. 

“Can you do it?”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m sure,” Manila trusted Sutan’s hands more than her own at this point. She knew his long, thin fingers, soft and feather light against her face, would be impossibly gentle, gentler than she could ever manage. 

“Okay. Tell me if something hurts or you want me to stop, alright?”

She nodded and took a seat on the toilet. He knelt down in front of her. 

He started with her good eye, rubbing the makeup wipe slowly and softly over her face. He moved on to her bruised eye and Manila found that she had been correct: Sutan’s touch was so delicate and soft there was hardly any pain. She doubted the pills had kicked in already and he was so careful it didn’t even matter. 

Manila was almost entranced by Sutan’s warmth, which only added to her exhaustion. She was in a daze and found that her wig and most of her makeup were gone without her even noticing. Sutan finished working on her lips, being extra careful around the cut, and suddenly he was Karl. 

He felt almost relieved to be himself again. 

Some small part of him hoped that once Manila was gone, what had happened tonight would be gone too. It had happened to _Manila_ , after all, not _him_. But, he knew it couldn’t work that way. The adrenaline had worn off and he was so exhausted he hadn’t really processed the night’s events yet, but he knew he’d have to deal with it eventually. 

Makeup fully gone, Sutan had gone into his bedroom to get clothes. He knew Sutan was worried about him, but this was the safest Karl had felt all night. From the minute the older man knocked on that dressing room door he knew he was finally, finally, safe. 

Sutan returned with a pair of shorts and a shirt. “Are shorts okay? Lord knows my pants are too long for you and I don’t need your clumsy ass to trip and break your neck,” Sutan grinned at Karl, and knew Karl was on his way back to feeling better when he snorted loudly and snatched the clothes away. 

“We know all about you and your long legs, bitch. No need to rub it in,” he muttered, his smile kind and genuine. 

“You’re not gonna watch me change, are you?” Karl asked when Sutan still hadn’t moved. “I think I can dress myself.” 

“Oh, right, sorry,” Sutan turned and went into his bedroom.

Karl locked the door and sighed. He knew Sutan really cared about him and only wanted to help, but Karl thought he was going overboard. _It’s only a few bruises_ , Karl thought. _He’s acting like I’m three years old_. Karl didn’t feel much of anything as he put the clothes on. He was a little shaky from what had happened, but he pushed the ideas of how badly tonight could have gone out of his mind. The exhaustion was helping, as he was too tired to truly contemplate what could have been. Fully changed, he left Manila’s remnants on the floor and headed to the bedroom, where Sutan stood fidgeting. 

Karl settled into the bed. Sutan just stood there next to him, wringing his hands together one second and running them through his hair the next. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he was struggling with what to say. _Was he planning to just stand next to the bed all night worrying?_ Karl sighed. He didn’t want to talk about tonight right now and really wanted to sleep, but he could tell Sutan was stressed and upset and it was making _Karl_ stressed and upset. 

“I can literally hear you worrying. Will you please relax? Just get in the damn bed. You don’t have to baby me. I’m fine. It’s fine,” Karl decided to get right to it, sleep be damned. He knew neither one of them would sleep anyway if they didn’t deal with this first. 

“It’s not fine!” Sutan shouted. Karl could see Sutan’s surprise at his own outburst and knew he hadn’t meant to be that loud. His next words were quieter as everything in his head came flooding out. “I-I’m sorry, Karl, I just--I haven’t been able to stop worrying since you called me and I can’t--I can’t stop picturing all the terrible things that could have happened to you and I don’t know what I’d do if you...” His voice trailed off as he began crying. 

Karl reached over from the bed and pulled Sutan onto the mattress next to him. He wrapped his arms around the taller man and tried to soothe him. 

“Sutan, honey, it’s okay. I know how bad this could have been, but it wasn’t, okay? I’m fine. And I know you’re worried and scared and you have every right to be. I am too. I know how much worse it could have ended up. What could have happened doesn’t matter now. There’s no point in thinking about it. I’m here, I’m alright, and we’ll get through this together.”

It was quiet as he felt Sutan’s breathing start to slow. “How the hell did you end up comforting me in all this?” Sutan laughed shakily. 

Karl laughed as he turned onto his side. “I feel like 40 percent of our relationship is one of us crying and the other one comforting.”

“And the other 60 percent is getting high,” Sutan added, and they both laughed deeply. The tension was mostly gone, but Sutan still seemed unsure of himself. 

“Come on,” Karl said, motioning to the bed. “Stay with me tonight.”

“Of course,” Sutan replied. He turned and pressed his warm chest against Karl’s back, draping one long arm over his waist. 

Sutan didn’t want to take advantage of Karl in this situation, but he placed one soft kiss to his cheek. “Get some sleep, Karl. I love you.”

“Love you too,” Karl mumbled sleepily. He was asleep in minutes, knowing he was always safe in Sutan’s arms.


End file.
